International Weightlifting Federation

Last updated

International Weightlifting Federation
AbbreviationIWF
Formation1905;119 years ago (1905)
Type Sports Federation
Headquarters Lausanne, Switzerland
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English
President
 Flag of Iraq.svg Mohamed Hassan Jaloud
Affiliations International Olympic Committee
Revenue (2018)
US$4.10 million [1]
Expenses (2018)US$9.19 million [1]
Website iwf.sport

The International Weightlifting Federation, aka IWF, is the international governing body for the sport of Weightlifting. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, it has 193 affiliated national federations. [2] Mohammed Hasan Jalood is its president since June 2022. [3]

Contents

The IWF organizes the World Weightlifting Championships, as well as world championship events for Youth and Juniors. [4] It also cooperates with the International Olympic Committee in the organization of Weightlifting events at the Olympic Games; [5] however weightlifting's inclusion in the 2028 Olympics is uncertain, due to doping issues within the sport, and governance issues within IWF, and weightlifting's inclusion is expected to be decided by an IOC meeting in 2023. [6] Weightlifting is scheduled as a sport in the upcoming 2024 Olympics, but with reduced numbers of athletes and events. [7] [8]

IWF traces its history to the formation of the "Amateur-Athleten-Weltunion" (Amateur Athletes World Union) in 1905. [9]

History

The IWF's predecessor organization, the "Amateur-Athleten-Weltunion" (Amateur Athletes World Union) was founded in 1905. This organization governed both weightlifting and wrestling. In 1912 this became the "Internationaler Weltverband für Schwerathletik" (International Federation of Heavy Athletics), adding "Amateur" in 1913 to become the "Internationaler Amateur-Weltverband für Schwerathletik." [9] [10]

In 1920, the federation split into separate organizations for weightlifting and wrestling, creating the Fédération Internationale de Poids et Halteres (International Federation of Weights and Dumbbells) for weightlifters, which then became the Fédération Haltérophile International (FHI). [10] In 1972, the Federation officially changed to the English version of this name by which it is now known—the International Weightlifting Federation. [9]

Tournaments

Awards

Corruption, governance and doping scandals

In 2020 an investigative television program, broadcast on German TV network ARD, exposed doping and corruption scandals within the sport. [11] A subsequent investigation into the IWF, found that doping – an historic problem within the sport [12] – was exacerbated by systematic governance failures, corruption, and doping cover-ups at the highest level of IWF; [13] with Tamás Aján, president of IWF from 2000 to 2020, [14] being found guilty by the Court of Arbitration for Sport of charges relating to tampering, fraudulent conduct and complicity in covering-up years of doping cases. [11]

Citing endemic corruption in IWF, and widespread doping issues, the International Olympic Committee has threatened to drop weightlifting entirely from the Olympics unless substantial reforms are made to the sport. [15] [16]

Consequently, as of 2021, weightlifting isn't in the line up of the 2028 Olympics. There is, nevertheless, a pathway for weightlifting's potential inclusion, if all issues are satisfactorily addressed by the new leadership of IWF before a key meeting of the International Olympic Committee in 2023. The IOC requires the IWF to demonstrate its transition "towards compliance and an effective change of culture", and successfully address doping within the sport and "ensure the integrity, robustness, and full independence of its anti-doping programme." [6] [17]

In 2020, in response to the scandal, IWF, being temporarily run by interim acting president Ursula Papandrea, initiated relocation of its headquarters from Aján's home city of Budapest to Lausanne, Switzerland, where the headquarters of the IOC is also located. [18] [19] In June 2022, a new IWF executive board was elected by IWF's member federations, with the new president Mohammed Hasan Jalood saying he is "dedicated" to "positive change". [20]

Weightlifting is scheduled as part of the 2024 Olympics program in Paris, although with reduced numbers of athletes, weight-classes, and events. [7] [8]

Response to Russian invasion of Ukraine

In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the IWF suspended athletes, coaches, and support personnel from Russia and Belarus on March 3, 2022, and forbade Russia from hosting any IWF competitions. [21]

In January 2023, IWF stated: "The IWF stands in solidarity with Ukraine and reaffirms its support for the IOC’s sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian State and Government. The IWF believes strongly in the unifying mission of sport and the Olympic Movement and welcomes the exploration of a pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under strict conditions. The IWF will uphold the current protective measures in place while this pathway is considered." [22]

Continental federations

IWF's affiliated continental federations are: [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic sports</span> Type of sport with events contested at the Olympic Games

Olympic sports are sports that are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2024 Summer Olympics included 32 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by an international governing body called an International Federation (IF).

Competitors at the Olympic Games have used banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamás Aján</span> International Olympic Committee member

Tamás Aján is the former President of the International Weightlifting Federation from 2000 to 2020 and formerly a member of the International Olympic Committee until 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Boxing Association</span> International boxing governing body

The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is a sports organization that sanctions amateur and professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships. It is one of the oldest boxing federations in the world, coming into existence after the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IBA consists of five continental confederations, the African Boxing Confederation, American Boxing Confederation, Asian Boxing Confederation, European Boxing Confederation, and Oceania Boxing Confederation. As of 2021, the IBA included 198 national boxing federations. It organises the biennial IBA World Boxing Championships, and governed boxing at the Summer Olympics until 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2028 Summer Olympics</span> Upcoming multi-sport event in Los Angeles, California, US

The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14–30, 2028, in the United States. Los Angeles will be the host city, with various events also scheduled to be held at other cities spread across the Greater Los Angeles area, plus two subsites in Oklahoma City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Olympic Committee</span> National Olympic Committee of Russia

The Russian Olympic Committee was the National Olympic Committee representing Russia. Its president is Stanislav Pozdnyakov. On 12 October 2023, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatiana Kashirina</span> Russian weightlifter (born 1991)

Tatiana Yuryevna Kashirina is a Russian Olympic weightlifter, Olympic silver medalist, five time World Champion and eight time European Champion competing in the +90 kg and +75 kg categories until 2018 and +87 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories. On 9 September 2023, the Court of Arbitration for Sport annulled over four years of her results due to drugs offenses, stating, "All the competitive results obtained by Tatiana Kashirina from 1 April 2013 until 19 June 2017 were disqualified, with all the resulting consequences, including the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points and prize and appearance money."

Boyanka Kostova is a Bulgarian-born naturalized Azerbaijani weightlifter. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's 58 kg, finishing in fifth place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxana Cocoș</span> Romanian weightlifter (born 1989)

Roxana Cocoș is a Romanian weightlifter.

Weightlifting was contested at the 2013 Summer Universiade from July 7 to 12 at the Ak Bure Multipurpose Sports Complex and the Batyr Sports Complex in Kazan, Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics</span>

The weightlifting competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place from 24 July to 4 August 2021 at the Tokyo International Forum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Weightlifting Federation</span>

The European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) was founded in 1969, and is the body governing and organizing the European Weightlifting Championships. The EWF is a "recognized continental body" under the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nijat Rahimov</span> Azerbaijani-born naturalised Kazakhstani weightlifter

Nijat Rahimov is an Azerbaijani-born naturalized Kazakhstani weightlifter. He represented Kazakhstan at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in the category of 77 kg, he placed first, winning the gold medal and setting a new world record with a clean and jerk lift of 214 kilograms. In 2022, the medal was stripped and he was banned when it was revealed he substituted urine samples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hajo Seppelt</span> German journalist and author (born 1963)

Hajo Seppelt is a German journalist and author.

The Men's 77 kg weightlifting competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place on 10 August at the Pavilion 2 of Riocentro. Nijat Rahimov originally won the gold medal but was disqualified in March 2022 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a doping violation. As of March 2022, medals for this event have not been reallocated, a process that could extend to 2024. If the medal is reallocated, Lü Xiaojun stands to win his third Olympic weightlifting gold medal.

Richard Henry McLaren is a law professor at Western University in Ontario, Canada, specializing in sports law. In 2015, he was one of the three members of the WADA Commission, an independent panel commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency to investigate allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russian sports. He was awarded the Order of Canada with the grade of officer in 2015.

This article details the qualifying phase for weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The competition at these Games includes 196 athletes. Each competing nation is allowed to enter a maximum of 8 competitors, 4 men and 4 women. The IWF released its qualification list on 28 June 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Testing Agency</span> Independent anti-doping organisation

The International Testing Agency, often referred to by the acronym ITA, is an independent organisation constituted as a non-profit foundation which implements anti-doping programs for international sports federations, major event organizers or any other anti-doping organisation requiring support. The organisation was created in 2018 under the supervision of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to promote independence, expertise and transparency in the global fight against doping. Its headquarters are located in the city of Lausanne in Switzerland.

References

  1. 1 2 Perelman, Rich (24 May 2020). "Who's in the money? EXCLUSIVE analysis of our survey of International Federation finances". The Sports Examiner. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "About Us". International Weightlifting Federation. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Its Olympic future in doubt, weightlifting names new leader". The Washington Post. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  4. ↑ "Competitions". inside the games. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "About". International Weightlifting Federation. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  6. 1 2 Cooper, Edward (16 December 2021). "Weightlifting Won't Be In 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles". Men's Health. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Only four of Tokyo Olympic weight classes retained for Paris 2024 weightlifting". www.insidethegames.biz. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  8. 1 2 Perelman, Rich (8 December 2020). "LANE ONE: Paris 2024 program approved, with four added sports, eight event changes and punishment for weightlifting". The Sports Examiner. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "Weightlifting History". International Weightlifting Federation. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Olympedia – International Weightlifting Federation". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Tamas Ajan, ex-weightlifting federation president, gets life ban over doping". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "IOC concerned by 'very serious' doping allegations in weightlifting". The Guardian. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "Investigation finds doping cover-ups in weightlifting". AP NEWS. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Fujita, Junko (8 August 2021). "Olympics-Weightlifting-Tokyo 2020 marked by firsts, but recent scandals cloud outlook". Reuters. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  15. ↑ "IOC gives itself more power to remove sports from Olympics". The Washington Post. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Georgiev, Ognian; Belson, Ken (28 July 2021). "Weight Lifting, an Original Olympic Sport, May Be Dropped". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  17. ↑ "Boxing and weightlifting risk being dropped from Olympics after scandals". the Guardian. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  18. ↑ "IWF moves from Hungary to Lausanne under new American leadership". www.insidethegames.biz. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "IWF Welcomes the Sports World to its Headquarters in Lausanne". International Weightlifting Federation. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  20. ↑ "New IWF leader Jalood and his team "ready for change"". www.insidethegames.biz. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  21. ↑ "Agapitov actively supporting war say Ukraine Weightlifting Federation". www.insidethegames.biz. 21 March 2022.
  22. ↑ "IWF statement". International Weightlifting Federation. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  23. ↑ "Continental Federations". International Weightlifting Federation. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.